Five Hundred and Sixty Two
by Vesperum
Summary: His name was Arthur, and he liked puddles, his backyard, and that nice lady down the road who always talked to him when he walked home from school.


from the prompt given to me: "the little blue boy and the moon man."

**fandom**: doctor who

**characters**: the doctor, oc, brief mention of river song

**warnings**: implied death, angsty doctor being angry

**word** **count**: 780

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><p>His name was Arthur, and he liked puddles, his backyard, and that nice lady down the road (the one with the multitude of roses) who always talked to him when he walked home from school. Sometimes she'd give him a slice of brownie if he had done something particularly spectacular in the playground.<p>

Arthur was six when he met the Doctor. He had just learned how to tie his shoes and could remember silly facts about nature. _(Did you know Doctor, that pine-cones can predict the weather? No Arthur, I did not)._

And then there was the invasion. Some alien race that decided today was _their _day to invade Planet Earth. There were lots of ships in the sky, and the Doctor distinctly remembers Arthur asking if this was to do with that new show on telly.

There was shooting. And running. And yelling. More yelling.

"Doctor?"

"Yes Arthur? wait a sec— I _TOLD_ YOU, HE'S NOT YOUR KING! LOOK AT HIS THUMB!"

"You're not a Moon Man, are you?"

"Of course I'm not a Moon Man! Moon Men are silly, they're made of cheese. Great for someone like me, I _love_ cheese. Well, y'know, it's not so great for the Moon Men, 'cause, I'm eating them— mind you, they grow limbs like starfish, I'll have you know, you just nibble on them and _do _remember to ask, they get horribly cranky if you just hop on and start devou–"

"But you can take me to the moon, right?"

"And back, Arthur. I can show you a planet with five hundred and _sixty-two_ moons, and the ocean there is constantly undecided about whether it's up or down."

Arthur's grin was positively blinding.

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><p>And then the really loud yelling began, and the Doctor told Arthur to wait for him, this wouldn't take too long, and then they'd be off looking at moons and dodging the Undecided Sea (and that really was it's name).<p>

And Arthur waited.

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><p>When River Song was at the Lunar University, and she was in her second year of archeology (informally known as "<em>And What To Do Once You Marry A Time Agent<em>"), there was a small section on alien invasions/settlements on Earth from the Fifteenth to Thirtieth centuries.

There were lots of them, really, but often without consequence. The only ones that _really _shouted out to her were the failed Sycorax Invasion in the Twenty-First, and the fall of the Androge Empire in the Twenty-Fourth.

Both had accounts of a man calling himself the Doctor, defending the Earth tooth and nail.

Both races were near annihilated as a result of their failed takeovers. It was understood the humans took charge in the 21st, but in Androge folklore it was "The Little Blue Boy" who was blamed for the fall of the once illustrious race.

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><p>Arthur waited. He could hear several Not-Moon-Men talking near him, but he wasn't paying too much attention to them, he was more focused on how much five hundred and <em>sixty-two<em> was. A lot more than ten, he guessed.

"King wants down. Fill 'er up."

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><p>It should probably be mentioned here that the Androge race was one that was used to a water-like planet— however, the liquid that they all swam in was a very oily, cloying sort of liquid, extremely heavy and dense.<p>

It should also be noted that the King was the only Androge not wearing the appropriate suit to deal with Earth's dry conditions, because he was Very Important; and for this reason was a kilometre radius barrier set up so that a pool, of sorts, could be created for His Majesty the Emperor of Androge.

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><p>After a while, Arthur had to stand, lest he be submerged in the strange incandescent water.<p>

After another while, he began to tread water, occasionally bobbing underneath. He was very tired. But he waited, because the Doctor said to wait, and he had _promised_ Arthur Moon Men and moons and seas that were maybe like this one. Arthur tried counting to five hundred and _sixty-two_, but Arthur wasn't sure how many tens five hundred and _sixty-two_ was but he knew it was an awful lot and Arthur was just so _tired._

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><p>The legend of the Little Blue Boy is a tale feared by many Androgen's. He is considered ill luck, and there are several days in the Androge Lunar Year where rituals are performed in the hopes of keeping the Little Blue Boy complacent, and not particularly genocidal.<p>

He has never come, of course, but the Androgen's cling to their traditions, lest the Little Blue Boy arises from his watery tomb to bring back the oncoming fire and storm he unleashed upon their army and planet so many centuries ago.


End file.
